Morey prepares for lottery for third consecutive year

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Having long said every piece of evidence is valuable, every result revealing, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey found waves of information to consider. They add up to the same, familiar conclusion.

The Rockets are, at least on the surface, where they were a year ago. How they got there changed – with a coaching switch, a lockout season and a late collapse.
Still, a third consecutive season will end in the lottery, with the Rockets stuck in the middle of the NBA pack. But Morey says they will at least be better positioned in the continuing search for a player around whom to build.

“We’re always learning about the players and the team,” Morey said. “We didn’t achieve our goals, so it’s disappointing. But we did have a year we feel we can build on.

“Big picture, we had a year we can build on, with young players playing well and continuing to improve and financial flexibility to continue to improve the roster that we’ve never had. Our financial flexibility is in the top few teams in the league, along with two very good picks in a deep draft, plus a very highly regarded prospect in Donatas Motiejunas coming over from Europe.”

The Rockets could have the salary-cap room they did not have in past seasons- between $12 million and almost $19 million depending which of their free agents they keep and when – to facilitate trades.

Courtney Lee, Goran Dragic and Marcus Camby will be free agents. The Rockets have options on the contracts of Chase Budinger and Samuel Dalembert.

Dubious incentive

With the Rockets losing seven of eight games heading into Thursday’s season finale against the Hornets, Morey indicated the team is more likely to pursue changes.

“We’re always in a constant state of continuing to try to improve,” Morey said. “I think our player turnover is in the top few teams in the league the last few years. I expect that to continue. We’re continuing to try to break into that next group of teams to be a championship contender. That requires not being satisfied with where you are and continuing to try to improve.”

Morey said the team has no intention of trying to tank its way to a high pick that could bring a potential star in the draft, basically arguing the Rockets have been too good to be that bad.

“That approach is not one we want to take or think we should,” Morey said. “I think this year for that to make any sense we would have to win less than 22 games.

“With our personnel and our coaching staff, how good they are, I don’t think we’re ever going to be a team like that. We’re always going to be a competitive team. We’ll look for other ways to break into that next group.

“We’re all competitive, myself and the coaching staff. It’s nothing I need to dictate. A couple games go our way, and we’re where we need to be. We went in with eyes open knowing this wasn’t a championship-competitive team. We have to continue to get better players in here and have the financial flexibility to add players and have the draft picks to keep improving the team and hopefully get a break in the trade market.”

Morey said he remains confident in Kevin McHale and a coaching staff completing its first year with the team. He does not expect owner Leslie Alexander to make changes in the front office.

Competitive owner

“Mr. Alexander is a very competitive person,” Morey said. “We set a goal of making the playoffs, and we didn’t achieve it. It is fair to criticize that I didn’t get the right players on the team to reach that goal. I think he likes the approach that we’re taking and the plans going forward. At the end of the day, it’s a bottom-line business. He’s disappointed.”

Offense regresses

There is a lot of that going around. A year later, the Rockets are roughly where they were, with the offense worse, the salary situation better and the search for a star ongoing.

“You have to take things in totality and figure out who are the right players to go forward with and the right players to add to the team,” Morey said. “I wish we could say the two years were different, but they really weren’t. We’re still working through losing Yao Ming and the overhang of his injury and how it changed the dynamic of how we play and the players that fit with Yao. We’re moving forward and trying to re-establish that foundation. We haven’t found it.”